The benefits of on-set asset management

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Often, data management is left for after the shoot; however if it's possible, it's a good idea to do it in the field. That way, problems can be caught sooner, and issues with footage can be flagged for post production. In this video, Richard Harrington walks thorough the benefits of doing data management during a shoot.

- Many times data management is left up for after the shoot.People just put a really high speed memory cardin the camera, preferably large capacity,and they try to shoot for as long as possible.Maybe they'll have to swap midday,but they'll take that cardand just throw it in the camera bag.And there's nothing wrong with that workflow,but it does have some potential dangers.What I like though,is to manage data on set or in the field.Ideally, you've put somebody in charge of this.The benefit of having somebody in chargemeans that they can spot problems sooner.

By reviewing the footage throughout the dayas it comes in, looking at it,they might notice somethinglike a focus issue with the lens,Or maybe that one of the cameraswas improperly white balanced.Having the footage quality controlledand spot-checked along the waywill minimize the chance of errors,and it can save you valuable time for post-production.You have to remember though that malfunction is possible.I've seen memory cards go corruptand usually it's at the very end of the dayafter you've shot on them for hours,but you want to make sure thatthat data is redundant in being backed up.

Hard drives get lost, people lose things,so making sure that before you leave a location,you are leaving with three copies of the data,and that those three copies are not travelingin the same bag, or on the same person,or in the same car,means that you're less likely to lose footageor have something catastrophic happen.I don't mean to be grim,but data management on set prevents youfrom unwanted things happening, like losing data,like having a malfunction,like something failing,or gear, or equipment,or memory cards getting lost or stolen.

It's essential that you take the time to do it right.But, there are a few challenges.

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Released

4/24/2017

On hectic video shoots where you're working with several cameras and saving your work on tiny memory cards, it's easy to lose data. In this course, learn techniques for managing the massive amounts of data generated by shooting video on a set or on location.

Follow Rich Harrington as he takes you through a practical workflow, explaining how to set up and organize your cameras on set, as well as how to set up a data transfer station on set to ensure that your data has a place to go. He also covers software tools, from using your computer's operating system to transfer data, to organizing your material using dedicated software solutions like Adobe Prelude. Plus, Rich goes into backup strategies, card management, and how to successfully hand off your data to post-production.